Awakening of the Raven
by Esscence of Pie
Summary: Raven has lived her life in shadow. She never felt like she was really alive. But all that is about to change. She is offered a chance to become one of them - one of the people she knows she has been all along.
1. Mysterious Calls

Raven stood bathed in moonlight on her porch, watching the stars and moon. Something about the night sky had always meant something to her; how something so dark, so black, could have beautiful sparkling stars and themoon lighting it up from the inside. Suddenly her cell rang, and she sat down quickly on the swing seat that her dad had installed a few years back for her younger sister, Annalise. "Hello?" A silence.

"_Never forget who you really are." _

Raven clutched the phone tightly to the side of her face, willing the mysterious voice at the other end to continue - but it never did. A click, that would soon be followed by the dull tone that she had spentso long listening to. She checked the display before the call could be over, and suddenly her heart skipped a beat. _A number. _There was never a number. It was always hidden, leading her to the conclusion that the regular prankers were intent on keeping their secret. _Not prankers. _She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and quickly saved the number to her phone, hands shaking as she pressed 'Call'.

"_The number you have dialed has not been recognised ... _" Raven frowned and cancelled the call, trying again, only to hear the same message. She checked her call register. Called again. "_The number you have called has-_" She quickly hung up and slid the phone into her pocket. Odd. _Wait until seven o clock tomorrow. You know what to do._

* * *

Raven sat in the passanger seat of her best friend Jess' car. Jess had turned up the radio and was singing along tunelessly to a recent pop song. Raven ignored this. She was leaning on her arm, watching the scenery slide by distractedly. Jess seemed to notice and suddenly pulled over sharply, causing Raven to yelp.

"What was that for?"

"You know what. There's something you're keeping from me. You've been really weird all day. Who is he?"

"_What?_" this snapped Raven out of her deep thinking. She couldn't help but let a smile play across her lips. _All this and Jess thinks it's over a guy. _

"Don't smirk at me like that! We're best friends - you're supposed to tell me everything." Raven wasn't looking at Jess any more but she knew the childish pout that would be aimed in her direction. _You'd think we were twelve, not seventeen._

"No, it's not a guy. I'm sorry, Jess. I just need to think about this." Raven said. She saw Jess seem to struggle with herself for a few seconds.

"You are so ... so ... so _infuriating, _Raven!" Jess blurted out, and Raven couldn't help but think cattily, _Oh, yes, she used a big word. That must have taken quite a few brain cells. _

They didn't speak for the rest of the car journey home. When they pulled up outside Raven's house, she walked to her front door then turned to wave at Jess, who deliberately ignored her and sped off down the street. "God. We're not in middle school, Jess." Raven said. She didn't know who she was speaking to; the car had already disappeared from sight.

Raven spent the evening flicking through TV channels. Her mom wouldn't be back until eight at least; her dad ten, if at all. She didn't really care. _They should just get a divorce and get over themselves. _Her mind was on other, more important things. Ignoring her pile of homework, she piled crisps and chocolate into her arms and watched cartoons, not taking in any of the childish antics of the characters. _You always eat when you're nervous. _

She wasn't concious of watching the clock above the mantlepiece, but suddenly she knew without looking that it was two minutes to seven. She got up without switching the TV off, leaving a pile of wrappers and half-eaten chocolate bars on the sofa. She closed the door and sat on the porch, looking into the dark garden and biting her lip. There was nobody there. _Yeah, sure._

One minute until seven. Raven didn't know what she was going to do, why it was so significant. Seven. Every night at seven, with a similar message. _You belong here. Never forget who you really are. _"Tonight I'll find out what it means." she whispered. Twenty seconds to seven. Fifteen. Ten. Her hand was on her cell, thumb resting on the 'Call' button. Five seconds. Four. Three. Two - she pressed call.

It rang. She was shaking, shivering in her sleeveless shirt as she clutched the phone to her ear. Her eyes were fixed on a single spot on one of the posts of the porch. It rang. One, two, three, four, five, six,_ seven. _A click.

"_Hello, Raven_."

"Hello Theirry." _Theirry? Who the hell is Theirry?_

"_We're all here. It's only you left_._ Daybreak is here._"

_Daybreak. _"My dreams. You -"

"_Yes. I've been projecting them. You need to know who you really are, Raven. Well. You've known all along_."

"Have I?" Raven breathed. _Yes. You have._

"Daybreak is there. You are here. I am here."

"I don't understand. You are ... ?" the line went dead. Raven cursed herself. She jammed the phone back in her pocket. It wouldn't ring now, she knew. The number wouldn't be recognised. She opened the door deep in thought, and sat down on the arm of the sofa feeling cold, searching her mind for a clue. She wondered why she couldn't hear the infernal jabbering of a ridiculous cartoon on the TV. She looked up and saw a black, blank screen. And then Raven knew she wasn't alone.

_"Hello, Raven. Well, your housekeeping hasn't improved much ... "_


	2. Half an Explination

_Thanks for my reviews. No, I'm not talking_ _about Raven symone. I'll try and make it more interesting _

* * *

Raven stirred a mug of hot chocolate quickly and then slid it across the kitchen table to Theirry, who smiled and nodded gratefully, but, she noticed, didn't attempt to take a sip of it. She sat down with her ownmug and took a tiny sip, burning her lips. Her hands were shaking.

"So.Tell me about myself." she smiled weakly at the ridiculous request. Theirry did too, and looked down at his hands for a second before speaking.

"Well, I'm goingto try and triggor some memories for you without having to explain your life story." he paused for a second before correcting himself, "Your life stories." Raven nodded. "Try andclear your mind. I know it's hard, but think about something nuetral." she nodded again and thought of a blanksheet of paper, smooth and white. Trying not to think of what she could put on the paper,but only concentrate onthe actual object.

"Okay. I'm ready." she spoke quietly, trying not to interrupt her calming thoughts.

"Rachel Sorrel. Rhonda Wright. Raven Blackburn-"_But that's _my_ name. _The thought was sudden and made Rachel flinch, causing the mug to tilt and a wave of chocolate to splash onto the table. Theirry couldn't help but smile as Raven rushed to get a cloth and wipe up the mess.

"Ah. Raven Blackburn. I thought that might work." Raven dropped the cloth in the sink and sat back down.

"What-" she was about to ask '_What is it?' _But strangely another question seemed more appropriate. "When was it?"

"Your first name. You're an Old Soul, Raven. One of the most little known, in fact. That's because you've only ever had three lives - four including this one.You were missed for quite a while."

_An Old Soul. Of course. Rachel Sorrel - young and homeless, only knowing the dirt of the road that she walked on until she threw herselve in front of the cart carrying supplies to an isolated village. Rhonda Wright - a middle school bully, pushing everyone around and not giving a damn who knew it, and getting shot at the age of sixteen in a gang rivalry. Raven Blackburn - _

"Wait a second," Raven suddenly spoke up. "Raven Blackburn. Why ... ?"

"We expected you would haveless memory of your first life. That's because you were killed at the age of eleven." this came as a shock to Raven. _I have died three times.I wonder what it felt like, to die ..._

"Why?" was all she could manage. Theirry had stopped smiling, his expression was grim.

"A prophecy, as always. A prophecy of your power and leadership." he shrugged, but she knew there was something he was keeping from her. "Anyway - _somebody_ decided that you were too much of a risk. ButI wouldn't worry about her. She's dead."

"Oh." Raven wondered fora second. She couldn't think of anything to say to all this. As long as he kept throwing things at her, she would keep letting them fall onto her until she had time to absorb and understand them. "Wait, how did I know your name?"

"Rhonda Wright knew me." Theirry said, the smile back on his pale face. "If my memory serves me, Rhonda Wright called me an asshole the last time I saw her, for trying to stop her from going to a certain meeting with a few gangs."

"Oh." Raven remembered vaugely. "Sorry about that." she said sheepishly, "Why did you care so much anyway?"

"We had started to desperately seek people who had the potentional to be helpful in the future." he shrugged again. "Being an Old Soul, you were one of the few we were searching for. My soulmate-" he stopped to smile, and Raven thought. _Soulmates ... together and inseperable. _"My soulmate, Hannah, is also an Old Soul, so I'm guessing you might want to talk to her. You've both been killed by the same person, too, if that strengthens your bond."

"Oh, great. That should be a real conversation starter." she was suprised as the words came out of her mouth.

"Oh - and, Raven, we were wondering - have you met anybody yet?" Raven frowned, and Theirry hurried to explain. "I mean, your soulmate. Because there could be complications if you have, I mean, it doesn't matter as-"

"No. No, I haven't." Raven said quietly. _Yeah, right, I wish. Having a soulmate is probably something reserved for more powerful forms of life. Then again - I am an Old Soul, and Hannah found Theirry ... _

"So, wait a second - you knew me as Rhonda?"

"Not really. I barely knew you aweek before you died." he said it quite casually. _...Before you died. _

"Did you know me in my other lives? I mean, how old _are_ you?" she realised this question sounded rude and blushed a little, looking down at the table.

"Let's just say I'm about as old as you are. And no, I'm sorry, I didn't know you before. I was ... I was tracking someone important to me."

"Hannah." Raven said, and Theirry nodded. "One last thing - my dreams. What were you talking about?"

"Well, mostly," he admitted, smiling sheepishly, "I was just gabbling. But I slipped words in that you might recognise."

_Oh yes ... _"And what was the stuff about the millenium?"

"All in good time. For now I think it best that you come back with me and meet the others." Raven nodded, and realised that suddenly she felt exhausted. "We can discuss this further in the morning."

* * *

_Sorry if I have any of my facts wrong > ; Ihave a bad headache and feel generally ill._


End file.
